RB Christian McCaffrey Is Working Hard At His First OTA With The 49ers

On Wednesday, Christian McCaffrey turned 27. The seasoned running back has been putting up all effort over the summer to be ready for the next campaign.

RB Christian McCaffrey Is Working Hard At His First OTA With The 49ers

It was hard to tell from McCaffrey’s performance if it was an NFC West late-season game or an OTA on May 23. He gave every exercise his whole attention, running at top pace and excitedly tackling every drill.

“I’m just trying to learn as much as possible,” McCaffrey told reporters earlier this week. “It’s nice to be able to start from square one and getting right with coach Turner and making sure it’s not just learning the plays but learning every single detail of the positions.”

The San Francisco 49ers have established themselves as one of the finest and most talented teams in the NFL during the past few seasons, so it’s not surprising that they’ve advanced to the NFC Championship Game three times and the Super Bowl once in the previous four seasons.

Early in the previous campaign, the Niners attack appeared to be ineffective, but the trade for dual-threat running back Christian McCaffrey in October altered everything, and for the remainder of the year, they performed well in a number of important offensive metrics.

Kyle Shanahan, the coach of the San Francisco 49ers, didn’t want to push his squad back during the first few days of organized team activities. Although padded workouts are not permitted during OTAs, Shanahan wanted his guys to gradually return to playing on the field.

Therefore, the 49ers did not wear helmets or pads when they lined up for their first round of 11-on-11 practice. It’s difficult to learn much from what essentially amounts to a glorified walk-through, but running back Christian McCaffrey was one guy who was hard to miss.

The effect McCaffrey had on the San Francisco 49ers’ locker room after being acquired in a trade with the Carolina Panthers on Oct. 21 may be hard to quantify, but there’s no disputing his on-field accomplishments made him one of the league’s most significant in-season additions in recent memory.

“He sets the standard,” quarterback Trey Lance said. “He’s quickly grown into a great leader in our locker room, and I think a lot of guys had a feeling that that would happen pretty quickly just based on who he is.”

In the end, McCaffrey had his finest season since 2019 in 2022, rushing for 1,880 yards and 13 touchdowns combined for the Panthers and 49ers.

Last season, McCaffrey played in 13 games as the lead running back for San Francisco, averaging 111.3 scrimmage yards per game (72.8 rushing and 38.5 receiving) and 19.5 touches per game for a total of 13 touchdowns.

 

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